•Reveals How It Stopped Him Becoming President
Despite passing on to glory for 33 years now, Obafemi Awolowo’s relevance is still been talked about in Nigeria today. He is one of the great leaders Nigeria has produced. He transformed Nigeria into an enviable height it is today and his legacy has stood the test of time for many years. Growing up, Obafemi Awolowo was everything you could think of. From a journalist, teacher, clerk, money lender to a taxi driver, Obafemi rose to become a lawyer, publisher and a political leader. Through this, he became a principal participant in the struggle for Nigerian independence.
Awolowo shot to fame in politics in the 1940s after leading a mass protest against the ban on exporting of palm kernel. He soon got attracted to scores of Nigerians, who believed he could help them triumph over the British. In the midst of these ventures, Awolowo still wanted to pursue his formal education. He went to London in 1944 to study law, and that was where he founded the Egbe Omo Oduduwa.
Awolowo, during this period, also wrote The Influential Path To Nigerian Freedom (1947), in which he highlighted the need for an independent Nigeria and a federal form of government.In 1947 Awolowo returned to Ibadan, Nigeria to practice law, and the following year he established the Egbe Omo Oduduwa in Nigeria. In 1951 he founded a political party, the Action Group, also known as Egbe Afenifere in the Western part of Nigeria as part of the Social Programme for the emancipation of Yoruba race. The party demanded an immediate end to British rule and for the development of several social welfare programs. Awolowo’s party won the first elections ever conducted in Western Nigeria, one of the colony’s three administrative divisions.
Following this, his party formed the first elected government in the Western Region and Awolowo, now a Chief became the Leader of Government Business and Minister for Local Government in 1952. In 1954, the politician became the first Premier of the Western Region. His party won the elections again in May 1956 and the Nigerian statesman retained his position as Premier. From 1954 to 1959, as premier of the Western Region, Awolowo improved education, agricultural practices, and social services.
He played a major role in the constitutional conferences in London and Lagos that paved the way for independence, having served as Premier of the self-governing Western region from 1954 until Nigeria achieved full independence from Britain in 1960.
When the 12-year ban on political activity was lifted in 1978 by Nigeria’s Armed Forces in preparation for a return to civilian rule, Awolowo became the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria, a party he formed.
He ran for president in the elections of 1979 and 1983 but was defeated both times by Shehu Shagari.
Awolowo would continue to lead the Unity Party until it was banned with several other political parties during a military coup at the end of 1983. Awolowo then retired from politics. Even though he was not successful in his bid to become president following his defeat at two separate elections, Awolowo’s ideals continue to influence Nigerian politics today. Awolowo died in Ikenne, Ogun State at the age of 78 on May 9, 1987 without fulfilling his ambition. One of the major setbacks he had was when it was revealed that for him to fulfil his ambition, he must be born again. This was said to have been a message from, the great late prophet, Apostle Ayo Babalola, the founder of CAC Church Worldwide. Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Apostle Ayo Babalola were two great men born in the same century and who had major positive impact in the country and beyond.
60 years ago, two major events happened in Nigeria which were of very important historical significance. In the evening of October 31 that year, the Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, commissioned the first television station in Nigeria and indeed the whole of Africa, WNTV-First-in-Africa, in the hall of the Western House of Chiefs at the Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan and 3 months earlier, on July 26 to be precise, the first General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, whose call and spiritual exploits led to the founding of the church, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, passed on at Ede, Osun State, aged 55 years. So, the early 19th century decade, the first, marked both their births – their entry into a world they were to redefine. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was born in 1909 while Apostle Ayo Babalola was born in 1904. There is no doubt that Apostle Ayo Babalola was one of the greatest and best-known church leaders of our time whose church was divinely inspired and brought about right here in Nigeria and was not imported from outside our shores.
Though he died several decades ago many CAC members still pray with his name. Whenever they pray they add God of Joseph Ayo Babalola. That is how much he is revered by CAC adherents and remains one of the greatest men of God that ever tread the face of this earth. He hails from Kwara State, his father was a devout Christian and was also the founder of CMS church at Ilofa/Odo-Owa, the Church was in sixteen other towns then. Babalola was brought up as an Anglican.
He became a prophet and a man with extraordinary powers. Enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit he could spend several weeks in prayer. Babalola was a spiritually gifted individual who was genuinely dissatisfied with the increasingly materialistic and sinful existence into which he believed, the Yoruba in particular and Nigeria, in general, were being plunged as western civilization influence on society grew.
He became the prophet of God in 1928 when God called him. It was while he was working as steamroller along Akure – Ilesha road in October 9th 1928 about 12.00 noon by the river Ariran that he heard a loud voice from above like the roar of thunder which called his name thrice saying “Joseph! Joseph!! Joseph!!! Leave this job you are doing; if not, this year you are going to be cut off from the earth.” Again On 11 October 1928, while trying to repair his machine, he heard an audible voice from the Lord to abandon the job and start preaching. That is how he received the call and he went into fasting and prayer. He became a prophet and a man with extraordinary power. It was with this spirit-filled soul that God led him to visit Awolowo with a message in order for him to fulfil his ambition of becoming Nigeria’s president. What was their encounter and how did it really happen? The general overseer of the mountain of fire and Miracle ministries, Pastor DK Olukoya who was also of CAC background and whose spiritual father was also late Joseph Ayo Babalola revealed during a programme where he was teaching a spiritual class, he narrated the incidence,
“Listen to me carefully, we are going to pray one great prayer now, the great apostle, Joseph Ayo Babalola, there was a time he went to the house of Chief Awolowo’s popularly called Awo. Let me be honest with you as a man of God. By the time the civil war of Nigeria ended, Ojukwu said something, he said Nigeria did not fight us, Awo fought us because he was a finance minister at that time and Nigeria did not borrow one kobo, not only that, he gave some advice that made victory possible. Then when he died, Ojukwu now said, this man was the best president Nigeria never had. When they say presidential debate and you put Awo on TV to be debating with others, by the time Awo begins to talk, the others will be looking like a fool because the knowledge with which he is talking and what he was saying makes them look like fools. I had a friend who was in the executive military council during the time of Gowon, the time they brought Awo from prison to become finance minister. He said when they brought him to that executive council and they sat down, he said he looked at all the soldiers and said, you want to make me minister of finance? Okay, if you want to make me minister, let me give you a short lecture and he gave these military boys a shooting lecture from primary school economics, they said by the time he finished, all those who were there gave him a round of applause. Simple primary school economics. Awo was the person that said that anybody that wants to trade with Nigeria has to be primitive trade by barter, . Also when they wanted to do Festac 77, they asked for Awo’s opinion, he said this Festac 77 is a show of our primitivity, and that the white man will be happy to see us exhibit our primitivity, that the money that was to be used for Festac 77 should be spent for technology, for education, for things that would move people forward and not going back to the idols that dragged us to where we were. It was Awo that said it. And this man has a clear attribute of being right, if he says this is it don’t doubt it. One day they asked him a question on Tv, they said, sir why is it that you don’t take advice from other politicians? He said how can I take advice from somebody who is busy dancing with free women on the street at night when I am busy struggling and thinking about how things will go forward, that’s Awo. I have been all over the world, the only other president I see that matches Awo in intelligence is Fidel Castro of Cuba. When you see that one too talk,you know this one too understands what he is talking about. The great Apostle, Ayo Babalola went to visit Awo, Awo was not at home, he met his wife, and he said thus said the lord, the Lord said he has called me on a spiritual arena and he has called this man on a political arena and for this man to fulfil his calling, he must surrender his life to Jesus, Awo never surrendered his life to Jesus till he died and he never fulfilled that destiny, can you raise up your hand and say, my father, every destiny waster assigned to my calling, die!!!!.
This was the shocking revelation as revealed by Pastor Olukoya which showed how great the 2 men were and how Awo’s refusal to obey Ayo Babalola’s message stopped him from fulfilling his political ambition of becoming Nigeria’s president even till he died.